U.S. Army Sgt. John Keller, a mortarman with Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, sets up an M224 60 mm mortar system during live-fire training at Forward Operating Base Torkham, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Sept. 27, 2013. (Caption: DoD; photo by Staff Sgt. Jerry Saslav, U.S. Army National Guard)When President George W. Bush was in office, media paid a great deal of attention to the war in Afghanistan. After President Barack Obama took the Oval Office, coverage declined steeply even though troop deaths increased significantly.

Many Americans may not realize the U.S. military still has approximately 60,000 troops still serving in Afghanistan. [Brookings/Aug., 2013] Yet media pay scant attention to that or the notable increase in casualties.

Afghanistan has been viewed by most as the “righteous” war because that country harbored the Taliban, fanatics who are among the fiercest oppressors of women and freedom in general in the world today. The Taliban gave refuge to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, managing for years to do what they wanted when President Bill Clinton ran the White House.

Each generation of Americans has been touched by war. For my children, the War on Terror is a defining moment in their youth. The Gulf War, when many in this generation had parents who served, is another. The fact our military is now all-volunteer is an indication of the commitment to service that generation holds.

On Veterans Day, we should remember those sons and daughters still serving in a country torn by war and tyranny for generations. And we should concern ourselves with what comes after, especially to the women there, once our troop withdrawal is complete.

Restrictive rules of engagement, largely due to leftwing dove influence on Democrats, are one factor in the deaths. Breitbart reported an interview with a U.S. Marine:

“During the Bush administration, we were able to engage terrorists planting IEDs with greater ease. Now, if we see two guys on the side of the road and it looks like they're planting an IED, we are told to wait -- because they might be farmers.”

Three employees of Virginia’s Dept. of Motor Vehicles pled guilty to a conspiracy to obtain official state IDs or driver’s licenses for people the U.S. Dept. of Justice described as “undocumented aliens.” The criminal conduct ran from Sept., 2007 to July, 2010.

The Washington Post (11-7-2013) cited the number of illegal license holders “as many as 300 people.”

Mozilla has a new add-on for Firefox called Lightbeam. I call it the snoop-back tool because the add-on lets you see third party sites who connect to your activity once you land on a particular website. Today I decided to check the Obamacare tax site, Healthcare.gov with Lightbeam.

How many third parties were there? Ten, and all I did was click on the page. I didn't enter a single bit of information.

New Jersey congressman Frank Pallone (D) used his time during the House Energy and Commerce Committee Hearings on Thursday to call the hearings a “monkey court.” The hearings titled “PPACA Implementation Failures: Didn’t Know or Didn’t Disclose?” began at 9 a.m., and Pallone did a large amount of cheerleading for the federal health tax bill that requires every American to purchase a product.

Pallone has more reasons than one to defend the bill, starting with his campaign contributions. Read more at Day on the Day.

What goes around really does come around, and there’s no better example of that than President Barack Obama’s current whiplash as a result of the rollout of his signature health tax bill. The website is an exercise in frustration for most, and now some Democrats are calling for a delay in the federal individual mandate forcing Americans to purchase a health insurance policy. Read more at Day on the Day.

Jacksonville (Fla.), Jax to most of us who live here, had two mishaps in the last 7 days, inconveniencing travelers.

First the Mathews Bridge was seriously damaged when it was hit by a cargo ship towed by tugboats on Thursday. The bridge is heavily trafficked and thousands of commuters are now being rerouted because it’s closed indefinitely.

On Tuesday, the Jacksonville International Airport shut down for hours. CBS 47 News said a passenger on her way to Washington (D.C.) sent the station video of a man being taken into custody. The man was reportedly acting suspicious and refused to sit down. He was also said to have a backpack.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office issued a brief statement:

On Tuesday, October 1, 2013, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office was called to assist the Jacksonville Aviation Authority regarding a possible suspicious package.

The JSO Bomb Squad responded to the airport and conducted a thorough search of the facility. A device was located, removed from the area, and rendered safe by the Bomb Squad.

The JSO continues to work closely with the JAA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine the nature of the activity at the airport.

On camera, one spokesperson told CBS 47 on Tuesday night the package rendered safe did have “destructive” properties, but he didn’t go so far as to call it a bomb.

Jacksonville is, according to local lore, the largest city in land area in the contiguous United States. As a resident, I can say it’s a fantastic place to live and raise a family, with beaches, special natural areas and parks, and the NFL Jaguars as well as a great rugby team, the Axemen. The rugby team won the USA Rugby League national championship in 2012. Another well-kept secret is a thriving live music community, with many different styles and performers at venues around the city every day of the week.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Frame grab: Fox News)I can’t watch Benjamin Netanyahu speak without being mesmerized. Maybe it’s the voice made for public speaking. Maybe it’s the earnestness. More likely it’s the timbre in the voice coupled with the knowledge Israel must feel very vulnerable right now.

There’s a personal element for me as well. Much of my heritage, my faith, and classical education comes directly from the Jewish faith, as it does for many Christians my age. Some may sneer at that statement; I don’t care because it’s true.

As Netanyahu looked at members in the assembly, there was a point in his address when he said, “Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons…If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.” He said that in doing so, Israel would be defending “many, many others.” That nuanced statement references other Mideast countries who are also concerned about Iran’s objectives.

On Twitchy, directly beneath this snip, snips from users in states around the nation indicated the exchange site had crashed. (Snip: Twitchy)As Monday evening crawled to an end, political junkies on Twitter debated the pending government shutdown, and putdowns flew across cyberspace like a shower of meteors.

The term #HarryReidsShutdown trended for hours, with Republicans mocking the ageing, defiant Senate head for his uncompromising stance on various offers put forth by the House GOP. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) appeared to have forgotten the legal power of the purse resides in the House.

One user named Woot took a special interest in tweets from The US Report: